Golden Slumbers
by Hidey-Hoodie
Summary: Weiss didn't know why there was pain in Yang's eyes but she was determined to find out. It didn't seem right, especially since it was the girl's birthday. (One-shot that I have no idea where it came from. Kind of prelude Freezerburn if you will. Yang and Weiss aren't dating but this could easily be a build up situation to it.)


"Make a wish Yang!" That's when it had started. The subtle pain in Yang's eyes. Ruby hadn't noticed it, grinning brightly as she was. If Blake had noticed she made no sign of it. So that left Weiss with wondering what the hell she was going to do about it.

It was the blonde's birthday and things had been going relatively well until that point. Everyone had been laughing and joking and generally having a good time. Ozpin let them use an unused classroom to throw a small party that was RWBY, JNPR, SSSN, and a few others. In all honesty it was perhaps the best party Weiss had ever been to.

Not that anyone would ever hear her say that. People liked to think being rich meant you could throw amazing parties. And while the food wasn't great the spirit was and that made all the difference to the young heiress. Now if only she could understand why she was the only one who noticed Yang's slight discomfort.

What did a birthday wish have anything to do with it? The blonde was hiding her pain well but Weiss was too familiar with the signs. She went through those motions herself a lot when dealing with her blasted family. And she had done so just a moment ago when the group sang 'Happy Birthday'. Was she really the only one who learned to sing in their group of friends?

Whatever. The party was drawing to a close and Blake and Ruby had a class later tonight. She'd confront her brash friend then, when the other two were out. Hopefully it wouldn't blow up in her face.

Weiss sighed and went through the motions of cleaning stuff up. Yang helped, even though she was the birthday girl, and it struck the heiress as odd. The blonde shouldn't have to do anything. And it looked like this was causing her more pain. Had she eaten too much perhaps and it was just happened to strike when Ruby said make a wish? No, that couldn't be it. That would be way too simple.

For the next three hours Weiss watched her friend carefully. The subtle pain never left her eyes, even when she was messing around with some of the things she had gotten. Of course once Yang left to go work on her bike Weiss couldn't watch her without arousing suspicions. So she waited for Ruby and Blake to go their class (an advanced reading course that only met at this time) before heading out down to the garage to find Yang.

Lost in thought Weiss didn't exactly watch where she was going. Just what was bugging Yang so bad that even she couldn't hide the pain in her eyes? It had to be something big. The blonde usually let little things slide off her with a grin and sharp verbal jab right back.

"Geez Weiss you have an odd habit of bumping into people." Yang's voice, just barely laced with thickness, jolted her out of her stupor. When the hell did she end up on the floor? "What are you doing here?" The blonde shifted her new toolbox to one side and held out her hand. Weiss took it, ignoring the grease and focusing on the fact that Yang's lilac eyes were just barely bloodshot.

"Looking for you actually."

"Really princess? I'm flattered. Come to give me a birthday kiss?" And there it was. A tease to hide the pain. Weiss pursed her lips and stubbornly ignored the odd feeling sparked at that suggestion. She was _not _falling for the blonde brute.

"Hardly. I wanted to talk to you about something I noticed today." Yang's grin fell with a small flinch and just barely widening eyes. Weiss frowned and gently tugged her friend back in the direction of the dorms. "But it can wait until we're back in the room. C'mon." The blonde had no choice but to follow.

The two moved around in awkward silence. Yang couldn't stop looking at the ground and more than once Weiss thought she heard a pained gasp for air. She never called her teammate out on it though. Somehow she just knew that Yang didn't want to appear weak to anyone. She was the same in that respect, but for different reasons. Her father would destroy her if she ever showed weakness. With Yang it was likely she felt she had to be the big sister all the time.

Yang disappeared into the bathroom once they got back to the dorm. Weiss sighed and rubbed her temples. Alright she'd let the blonde have a few moments to collect her thoughts and get cleaned up from the day. It gave her time to collect her own thoughts. She never expected to be the one to confront the blonde about something like this.

She groaned when the shower started up. This was going to take longer than she thought. Weiss glared at the wall and waited.

When Yang came back out she wasn't trying to hide her pain. Weiss dropped her glare, surprised by this sudden side of her blonde friend. Why was this so easy?

"Do you mind taking a shower first Weiss? There's something I want to get and I kinda don't want people knowing where it is." This wasn't Yang. Yang wasn't sheepish and scared. But it was her, just a different and unseen side. Weiss sighed and nodded.

"But you and I are having a serious talk afterwards." Yang nodded, not meeting her gaze. "How long will it take to get this thing?"

"Not long. I'll have it out before you're even halfway done with your shower." Weiss nodded again and went to the bathroom. Yang breathed out heavily and waited until the shower started up again before moving to retrieve the item in question.

She gently eased herself onto Weiss' bed, staring at the old photo in her hands. It was their team, her parents' team, with Uncle Qrow and Summer. It was one of the only pictures she had of her mom too. The other was saved on her personal scroll, only used when she was looking for information. Of course after Junior hadn't known anything Yang hadn't known where to look.

Weiss sat beside Yang once she was done with her shower and waited. For a long moment the two just looked at the team picture in the blonde's hands.

"That's my dad," the blonde suddenly said, pointing to a laughing man with the same shade of blonde hair and dancing lilac eyes. "Ruby's too. And that's Uncle Qrow. He taught Ruby how to use the scythe."

"You and Ruby had different moms?"

"That wasn't obvious with the different last names?"

"Usually it's a different dad." Yang cringed and Weiss pursed her lips. She should have kept her mouth shut.

"That's Ruby's mom." The woman wore a white cloak similar to Ruby's red one and had the same childish look to her eyes. "Summer was the best. She made the most amazing cookies in the world." There was a sad happiness gleam in Yang's eyes. Weiss gulped and carefully pulled the blonde into a hug. It was obvious that Summer was gone. The heiress would recognize that pain anywhere, being well versed in it thanks the White Fang. Yang stiffened briefly before relaxing and awkwardly shuffling closer.

"Is that your mom?" Weiss asked softly, pointing to the other woman. She was scowling sideways at Summer who had thrown her arm over her shoulders. Kind of how Ruby and Weiss interacted. Yang chuckled and nodded but it was a sad chuckle. "What happened to her?"

"I don't know. Dad said she left right after I was born. No one has seen her since. When I learned that I just kinda started wishing she'd come back. Every year, at my birthday. When I was younger I thought maybe the magic of birthday wishes could make it happen. Guess how far that went?" Another chuckle, this one pained and bitter. Weiss sucked in a quick breath. "What even tipped you off?"

"When Ruby said make a wish," Weiss finally said after a few seconds of silence. Yang cringed and absently buried her face into the heiress shoulder. Any other day she would be mad about the move but right now it was startling clear just how much pain Yang was going through.

"I just want to know why she left. Or what happened to her. But no one has ever seen her since she left me with Dad. Not even Uncle Qrow. And they're siblings!" The blonde slammed her fist into the mattress in frustration and finally broke, tears streaming down her face. "I just want to know." Yang was silent for a few more moments save for her tears. Then she spoke up again, voice thick with pain and tears. "Thanks Weiss. You're probably the first person I've ever told about this." The heiress' eyes widened in surprise.

Weiss didn't know what to say to that so she hesitantly rubbed circles on the blonde's back. It was something her own mother had down before the woman was killed by the White Fang. That had been the hardest death to get over. And Weiss still wasn't sure she was entirely over it.

What else had her mom done when Weiss couldn't get to sleep? It had been so long since she had thought of these memories but for whatever odd reason she thought it would help Yang. It was now painfully clear the blonde had grown up most her life without a mom. Hell even Ruby by the sounds of it but she had Yang being the big sister.

Right that lullaby. The one about golden slumbers and singing a lullaby. Now how did it go again? Weiss frowned in thought and continued rubbing Yang's back, feeling the sobs subside just a little beneath her. Oh right that's how it went. The heiress took a deep breath and let the words fall softly from her lips, perfectly aligned and in tune like her singing instructor taught her. He would have a heart attack if he ever found out she used the techniques to sing a lullaby.

_Golden slumbers kiss your eyes,  
__Smiles await you when you rise.  
__Sleep,  
__Pretty baby,  
__Do not cry,  
__And I will sing a lullaby._

_Cares you know not,  
__Therefore sleep,  
__While over you a watch I'll keep.  
__Sleep,  
__Pretty darling,  
__Do not cry,  
__And I will sing a lullaby._

Weiss smiled softly as Yang finally stopped shaking with tears and drifted off into sleep. It probably wasn't going to be the best sleep but the heiress was determined to keep it as peaceful as possible. She gently eased the two down on her bed into a lying position, ignoring the odd spark in her chest. There would be time to understand that later. Along with explaining this positioning to Ruby and Blake.

But those were troubles for another time. For now, it was just letting Yang get through the night as peacefully as possible in the wake of releasing all her frustration and pain at her mother's absence.

**A/N So yup that's that. I have no idea where this came from but it works well I think. Hope you all enjoyed it, even if it is some major angst stuff. But Yang needs some loving and well this works. It's not exactly Freezerburn but I guess it works as a set up to that pairing. I might even include a similar scene in the high school au I'm planning to write. Who knows. ****The name of the lullaby is Golden Slumbers btw. ****Ciao!**


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